Nov 21, 2012

Loincloth's Playlist

Few things in life are as exciting as a ten hour ride through truck stops and toll booths. While public restrooms are a never ending delight, long trips require a good selection of music to keep everyone from chewing each other's socks out of boredom. Fortunately the van we rented for our first shows had a cd player, so we were able to rock out without having to hide our socks from the horrors of mindless oral fixations. If you think a dog licking its paw out of boredom all night is annoying, try prying a guitarist off of your foot who is in a Chuck Taylor flavored, sock-chewing induced coma! Do you have any idea how awkward it can be when they snap out of it? And please, what's worse than socks soaked in saliva? Here are the cd's that kept everyone's socks dry this past weekend. I always play it safe when I'm selecting music for social situations, especially if I don't know everyone's tastes. We kept it old school, and it worked out well for us.

AC/DC: Let There Be Rock - You just can't go wrong with this record! Start your journey off right with the purest rock album ever recorded! Anyone who rocks even slightly probably has a little AC/DC in their blood.

Radiohead: Amnesiac - I was a latecomer to Radiohead. I blew them off as wannabes until I heard "The Bends" in a restaurant one night well after "OK Computer" came out. "Amnesiac" is their darkest album, and Craig had never heard it. Any band as huge as Radiohead who continues to be innovative instead of cashing it in gets points in my book.

Van Halen: Women and Children First - This is their most creative album, and you really begin to get a sense of how good Alex Van Halen is. He's the most underrated drummer in hard rock. Heavy, adventurous, and willing to do whatever it takes to further the vibe of a song. "Take Your Whiskey Home", "Romeo Delight" and "Everybody Wants Some" are all classics.

Killing Joke: Night Time - The other guys in the band love Killing Joke, but other than the song "Eighties" I didn't know much about them. I did recognize the title track from who knows when, and there was enough Gary Numan in the vocals for me to be intrigued. I guess they helped changed the face of popular music, but it took Nirvana ripping them off to make it happen. If you've never played "Come As You Are" and "Eighties" back to back, it's as bad as it gets. But "Smells Like Teen Spirit" is just Blue Oyster Cult's "Godzilla" anyway, so it shouldn't be a surprise to anyone.

King Diamond: Abigail - Turns out we all list KD as one of our favorite bands at some point during our lives. Abigail was a big jump in the right direction from his first album. Classic metal, if you can deal with his vocals. Punk and metal teach you the value of being able to ignore vocals! Even when I used to listen to King Diamond all of the time I would turn it down at stoplights because of his vocals.

Godflesh: Songs of Love and Hate/Hymns - These are my two favorite Godflesh cd's. I didn't bring any but Craig had these on his mp3 player. "Songs of..." is the bleaker, more creative of the two but "Hymns" is just a brutally heavy punch to the jaw! The last song, "Jesu" is my favorite Godflesh song. Punishing. These two records provide two hours of that almost sideways, hip hop style of head banging while you drive.

Black Sabbath: Heaven and Hell - Sorry Ozzy fans, but both of the two Dio albums in the 80's blow any of the Ozzy albums away. The Ozzy stuff is good, but the Dio records are fantastic! "Die Young", "Heaven and Hell" and "Neon Nights" will always strike a chord in me. Bill Ward makes this album sound more like older Sabbath than "Mob Rules", which is my favorite, but not by much.

Death: Individual Thought Patterns/Human - There was a time when I used to listen to Death a lot. I like "Human" more because it's meaner and heavier, but it's a lower budget recording. "...Thought Patterns" is more punishing but I like how much darker "Human" is.

Rush: Caress of Steel - I was so glad to have this record and "Fly By Night" again for the first time in years. It's before they became completely prog, and their rock roots show throughout the two records. There are stinkers on both, but "The Necromancer" and "The Fountain of Lamneth" kick as much now as they did when I was in high school. Geddy Lee really belted it out back then, but there are also some pretty long quiet parts that they stayed away from later on in their career.

Celtic Frost: Monotheist - You can't get any heavier than good Frost. I revel in their caveman sludgefest! I'm pretty sure that this is what Clive Barker's cenobites play at all of their social events. There are times when they may even feel a little uncomfortable during this record!

Triptykon: Eparistera Daimones - Think of this as an extension of "Monotheist" but translated slightly differently through someone more sinister. Celtic Frost has just the slightest color in their music, kind of a blackish brown, but what Tom G. Warrior does with his new band is pure, untainted blackness. "Monotheist" is the better of the two records, but the best parts of Triptykon are at least as horrifying and blood curdling.

Black Sabbath: Never Say Die - Okay Ozzy fans, I'm throwing you a bone with this one. Oh right! You guys hate this record. Ha-ha! Too bad, if you could appreciate what a great day time driving record this is you might realize that it's way more cohesive than their other albums with John O. "Junior's Eyes", "A Hard Road", "Over to You"... this is a one of a kind record.

Mice Parade: Bim-Vinda Vontade - Thomas talked me into buying a remix record once because it was on a label he trusted called Hefty Records. One of the remixes was from a Mice Parade song, and I loved it. I took a chance and bought one of their cd's and they became a favorite of mine. I guess they are kind of post modern jazz and rock. Monica and I used a few of their songs when we were mapping out the music to play during our wedding and the reception afterwards. In fact, she walked down the aisle to the short guitar piece at the end of this record. They create really hypnotic music through steadily adding layers to repetitious guitar patterns. The drummer is endlessly enjoyable to me. He writes really intricate patterns and is naturally smooth as silk.

Ozzy Osbourne: Diary of a Madman - I really think that Randy Rhoads' darkly emotive style and Iron Maiden's techno-metal melodious riffs/song construction are the cornerstones upon which underground metal was built. I think that the kids who worshipped Rhoads and Maiden weren't satisfied with what was out there for them and locked themselves away in their basements until the genre was born. "Believer", "S.A.T.O" and the title track are all brilliant! I enjoy Randy Rhoads just as much now as I did in junior high when this record came out. The song, "Diary of a Madman" is a genuine masterpiece. It was almost scary to me when I first heard it. So dark...

The Beatles: Abbey Road - Just in case anyone thought I was kidding about how much this record means to me in my "Shipwrecked..." post, you better believe I brought it with me last weekend! It kept playing quietly in the background while Tannon and I drove and talked all night. I always bring a couple Beatles cd's with me because they're good ones for me to stay awake with. So much of what I listen to is too laid back for night driving, but The Beatles and other things that I can hum along to keep me up as much as anything can.

There were plenty of other cd's that we never got around to, but these created the soundtrack to our first band outing. I'll post more about the shows a little later. I've been sleeping and working ever since we got back and hopefully I'll have a chance to catch a breather this weekend. We had a great time, and it was incredibly encouraging and rewarding! We are completely psyched about what is going on right now, and at the chance to bring The 'Cloth to as many people as possible!

Thomas just reminded me that we also listened to the Scorpion's "Taken by Force". I knew there was another one early in the trip. My guitarist friends all love the Uli Roth and Michael Schenker schools of playing. That extends into Thin Lizzy also, and while I appreciate the contributions they made ( Uli was definitely ahead of his time with leads ) there just isn't enough there for me to get excited about. It falls into the category of 'pretty interesting for its day' to me. I liked Animal Magnetism and Blackout, but Thin Lizzy may as well be Jackson Browne with guitar harmonies. If I could be 15 again I'd like it more, but I didn't grow up with it. I'm going to apply for a concealed carry permit now so some enraged guitarist has to think twice before mowing me down now that I've insulted every 70's wannabe guitarist's gods! I do prefer that style of guitar to completely schooled metal, but the same part of me that keeps me from liking Kiss prevents me from falling in love with Thin Lizzy. Sorry...